Sipper



Feb. 27, 1940. F. c. HAMILTON SIPPER Filed July 22, 1939 FIG.4.

INVENTOR FRANCIS C. HAMILTON A HM E -"UHFMWWWWWWWWWW I F ATTORNEY.

Patented Feb. 27, 1940 PATENT OFFICE SIPPER Francis 0. Hamilton, Columbia, 111., assignor of one-half to L. Ray Schuessler, St. Louis, Mo.

"Application July 22, 1939, Serial No. 285,868

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to sippers of the type employed to drinkbeverages .and other liquids from bottles and other receptacles, and more specifically to sippers of this type which are adapted to be sealed in the bottles or other receptacles with which they are employed, the predominant object of the invention being to provide an. improved sipper which includes a jacket portion that provides the sipper with a space in which air is confined to give buoyancy to the sipper and which jacket is movable longitudinally of the axis of the sipper to extend the length thereof. t Prior to this invention United States Letters Patent were granted which disclosed the arrangement of sealing sippers in bottles and other receptacles containing liquids, the idea behind such arrangement being that when the caps or other closures of the receptacles are removed by the consumers the sippers, because of their buoyancy, will be projected slight distances above the mouths of the bottles or receptacles, to' present to the consumer clean and sanitary sippers for use in drinking the liquids. One disadvantage ordinarily encountered in connection with a sipper sealed in a bottle is that the sipper must necessarily be. of less length than the, distance between the bottom wall of the bottle and the inner face of the cap, and as a consequence thereof t3. sipper is too short to. reach down into the lower portion of the bottle when its upper end is extended out of the mouth of the'bottle a suflicient distance to permit application of the users mouth thereto.

The improved sipper disclosed herein includes as a part thereof a jacket portion which when the sipper is sealed in a bottle provides the sipper with an annular space in which air 'is confined so. as to give buoyancy to the sipper. I This jacket is attached to the main portion of the sipper by a joint which may be easily broken by the user of the sipper, and when the joint is so broken the jacket may be moved longitudinally of the main portion of the sipper to increase the effective length of the sipper and thereby render it sufficiently long to reach into the extreme lower portion of the bottle when the upper portion of the sipper is extended upwardly beyond the mouth of the bottle. I l

Fig. l'is an elevation of the improved sipper showing same as it appears when the jacket portion thereof is in its unmoved condition.

Fig. 2 is an elevation of the sipper shown in Fig. 1 but illustrating same as it appears when the jacket portion thereof has been moved longitudinally of the main portion of the sipper to increase the effective length of the sipper.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section of the sipper as ity is illustrated in Fig. 1. i Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary longitudinal section of the improved sipper as it appears in its fully extended condition.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view partly in longi tudinal section and partly in elevation, showing a modified form of the invention.

In the drawing, wherein are shown for the purpose of illustration, merely, two embodiments of the invention A designates in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive, the improved sipper generally, said sipper A including a main sipper portion l anda jacket portion 2. The main sipper portion comprises a tubular element which is open from end to end, said main sipper portion being provided with a substantially bell-shaped portion la at the end thereof which is the lower end of the sipper when it islocated in a bottle or other receptacle. As

shown to the best advantage in Figs. 3 and 4, the bell-shaped portion la of themain sipper portion I is of greater diameter than the remainder of said main sipper portion. The tubular element which provides the main sipper portion I is formed from any suitable material which will not be affected by the liquid contents of the receptacle in which it is disposed, and also which will not affect said liquid.

The jacket portion 2 of the improved sipper A comprises an element 'made of the same material from which the main portion I is produced, or a different material having the required characteristics. The jacket portion 2 is provided with a reduced cuff portion 2a at one of its endswhich contacts closely with the outer surface of the main sipper portion I, and the elongated part of the jacket portion 2 extended from said cuff portion is of substantially greater diameter than the main sipper portion l toprovide an annular space 3 between theouter face of the main sipper portion and the inner face of the wall of the jacket portion 2. The lower portion of the jacket portion 2 of the sipper Acontacts closely with ,45 the side wall of the bell-shaped portion Ia of the the sipper to float upwardly in liquid in which the jacket portion of the sipper is submerged.

The jacket portion 2 of the sipper is attached to the main portion l thereof by means of a readily breakable joint which is provided by suitable material 4. There are several materials obtainable on the market which possess the charac terics necessary to provide the joint required in producing the improved sipper disclosed herein, one characteristic of the material being that it is non-toxic, and another characteristic being that a joint made with the aid of the material be sufiioiently secure under ordinary handling of the sippers to hold the main portion i and the jacket portion 2 together but which may be broken when desired by the application of slightforce.

In making the joint between the main portion I of the sipper and the jacket portion 2 thereof the jacket portion may be assembled on the main sipper portion after which a band of the material 4 is applied to the assembled elements to provide the joint 5 illustrated in Fig. 3 which engages the main sipper portion l and the cuff portion 2a of the jacket portion 2.

In the use of the improved sipper disclosed herein the sipper is sealed in a bottle or other receptacle with which the sipper is associated, the top of the sipper being forced against the cap or other closure which seals the mouth of the bottle or other receptacle by the buoyancy provided by the body of air trapped in the space 3. Because of this situation removal of the cap or other closure of the bottle or receptacle will permit the upper portion of the sipper to be buoyantly projected upwardly beyond the mouth of the bottle or other receptacle. When the upper end portion of the sipper has been projected above the mouth of the bottle or other receptacle the user may drink the contents of the bottle or receptacle with the aid of the sipper until the level of the liquid is lowered to a point where it is necessary to increase the length of the sipper.

. He may then withdraw the sipper from the bottle or receptacle and by pinching the sipper at the joint 5, break the joint between the parts of the sipper and move the jacket portion longitudinally of the main sipper portion to increase the sipper to the required length. It is obvious, of course, that if desired, the effective length of the sipper may be increased, as described above, as soon as the removal of the cap or closure of the bottle or other receptacle releases the upper portion of the sipper for projection beyond the mouth of the bottle or other receptacle.

When the jacket portion of the sipper A is moved longitudinally of the main sipper portion 1 to its limit of movement to extend the efiective length of the sipper, the inner face of the reduced portion of said jacket portion adjacent to the cuff 2a contacts with the outer face of the portion of the main sipper portion adjacent to the bell-shaped end portion la of said main sipper portion, as shown in Fig. 4, to arrest further outward movement of the jacket portion with respect to the main sipper portion, and thus prevent complete withdrawal of the jacket portion from the main sipper portion. In this connection it is pointed out that the contact between the portions of the main sipper portion and the jacket portion adjacent to the cuff 2a and the bell-shaped portion la is sufficiently close that air may not pass between said contacting portions of the sipper.

In order that a user may know just where to pinch the sipper A to break the joint 5 when the sipper is to be extended, a band 6 of material of a distinctive color is arranged about the jacket portion adjacent to the joint as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, and the users may be instructed to pinch the sipper at the colored band.

Also, if desired, the sipper may be made as shown in Fig. 5 where the material of which the joint 5 is made is transparent and a band 6 of colored material is arranged on the cufi 2a of the jacket portion 2 beneath a portion of the joint. l-Iere also, the colored band 6 will indicate where "the sipper should be pinched to break the joint 5 when the sipper is to be extended.

Another advantage of the enlarged bell-shaped lower portion la of the main sipper portion l is that it provides an enlarged entrance into the sipper for the ingoing liquid when the sipper is being used in an unextended condition. This is true, also, when the sipper is extended, the jacket portion 2 at such time providing an enlarged entrance to the sipper.

I claim:

l. A sipper including a main sipper portion comprising a tubular element open from end to end, a tubular jacket portion surrounding said main sipper portion, a portion of said jacket por tion being of a diameter substantially greater than themain sipper portion to provide a space Within said jacket portion between a wall thereof and the wall of said main sipper portion in which air is confined, a readily breakable joint for securing said jacket portion to said main sipper portion, said jacket portion on breaking of said joint being movable longitudinallyof said main sipper portion to increase the length of the sipper, and means to prevent complete withdrawal of said jacket portion from said main sipper portion when'said jacket portion is moved longitudinally of said main sipper portion to extend the length of the sipper.

2. A sipper including a main sipper portion comprising a tubular element openifrom end to end, a tubular jacket portion surrounding/said main sipper portion, a portion of said jacket portion being of a diameter substantially greater than the -main sip'per portion to provide a space within said jacket portion between a wall thereof and the wall of said main sipper portion in which length of the sipper, said means comprising aportion of enlarged diameter formed on said main sipper portion and a portion of reduced diameter formed on said jacket portion which move into contact with each other when the limit of allowable movement of said jacket portion relative to said main sipper portion is reached.

3. A sipper including a main sipper portion comprising a tubular element open from end to end and provided at one end with a part of 'enlarged diameter, a tubular jacket portion surrounding said mainsipper portion, a portion of said jacket portion being of a diameter substantially greater than the main sipper portion to provide a 'space within the jacket portion between a wall thereof and the wall of said main sipper portion in which air is confined, said jacket portion being provided at one end with'a cuff portion of reduced diameter which contacts with the wall of said main sipper portion and the opposite end portion of said jacket portion contacting with said enlarged part of said main sipper portion, and a readily breakable joint for securing said jacket portion to said main sipper portion, said jacket portion on breaking of said joint being movable longitudinally of said main sipper portion to increase the length of the sipper, and a portion of said jacket portion'at the cuff portion thereof being movable into contact with a portion of said main sipper portion at the enlarged part thereof to prevent complete Withdrawal of said jacket portion from said main sipper portion.

i l. A sipper including a main sipper portion comprising a tubular element open from end to end and provided at one end with a substantially bell-shaped part of enlarged diameter, a tubular jacket portion surrounding said main sipper portion, a portion of said jacket portion being of a diameter substantially greater than the main sip-.

per portion to provide a space within the jacket portion between a wall thereof and the Wall of said main sipper portion in which air is confined, said jacket portion being provided at one end with a cuff portion of reduced diameter which contacts with the wall of said main sipper portion and the opposite end portion of said jacket portion contacting with said enlarged part of said main sipper portion, and a readily breakable joint for securing said jacket portion to said main sipper portion, said jacket portion on breaking of said joint being movable longitudinally of said main sipper portion to increase the length of the sipper, and a portion of said jacket portion at the cuff portion thereof being movable into. contact with a portion of said main sipper portionat the enlarged part thereof to prevent complete withdrawal of said jacket portion from said main sipper portion.

5. A sipper including a main sipper portion comprising a tubular element open from end to end and provided at one end with a part of enlarged diameter, a tubular jacket portion surrounding said main sipper portion, a portion of said jacket portion being of a diameter substantially greater than the main sipper portion to provide a space within the jacket portion between a wall thereof and the wall 01 said main sipper portion in which air is confined, said jacket portion being provided atone end with a cufi portion portion to said main sipper portion, said jacket portion on breaking of said joint being movable longitudinally of said main sipper portion to increase the length of the sipper, and a portion of said jacket portion at the cuff portion'thereol being movable into contact with a portion of said main sipper portion at the enlarged part thereof to prevent complete withdrawal of said jacket portion from said main sipper portion, and means for indicating the point at which force should be exerted against the sipper to break said joint.

6. A sipper including a main sipper portion comprising a tubular element open from end to end and provided at one end with a part of en-' larged diameter, a tubular jacket portion surrounding said main sipper portion, a portion of said jacket portion being of a diameter substantially greater than the main sipper portion to provide a space within the jacket portion between a wall thereof and the wall of said main sipper portion in which air is confined, said jacket portion being provided at one end with a cufi portion of reduced diameter which contacts with the wall of said mainsipper portion and the opposite end portion of said jacket portion contacting with said enlarged part-ofsaid main sipper portion, a readily breakable joint for securing said jacket portion to said main sipper portion, said jacket portion on breaking of said joint being movable longitudinally of said main sipper portion to increase the length of the sipper, and a portion of said jacket portion at the cuff portion thereof being movable into contact with a portion of said main sipper portion at the enlarged vpart thereof to prevent complete with drawal of said jacket portion from said main sipper portion, and means comprising a band of material for indicating the point at which force should be exerted against the sipper to break said joint. V

FRANCIS c. HAMILTON. 

